Too many grapes?

[GoldenCometLover]

Good morning! So I have been trying to cut back on the "treats" I give my girls...I am certainly what one would call an "over treater"

....so I have cut back to a handful of scratch once, maybe twice a day and only a cup of mealworms once a week...which was super hard...my ladies LOVE

mealworms!

They chase me down when they hear the jar being opened!

So now I am feeding them grapes...seedless cut in half...and they love the grapes...I give them some each morning for breakfast (with their yogurt, cottage cheese, flax seed and fresh spinach) and then some at night with a little more cottage cheese...my ladies only get to free range for about an hour and 1/2 each day during the week and but all day on weekends....

So I am worried I am replacing the "treats' with grapes and don't know if that is unhealthy...is there such a thing as too many grapes?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[emys]

Grapes are mostly sugar which converts easily to fat. There is such a thing as too many grapes!

Oh, and grape seeds are perfectly fine for chickens - don't spend more for seedless.

 

[GoldenCometLover]

Oh no!

Okay is there anything that is considered a HEALTHY treat for chickens?

I mean they get tons of good stuff, but I was terribly worried I was giving them too many mealworms, so I wanted to give them something else, so I picked grapes...would it be better to go back to mealworms instead of the grapes?

And thanks for the seeds vs seedless tip...

 

[Sissy]

Hi Golden comet lover,
how lucky you are I just lost my only 2 golden comets
and they hadnt gotten to lay their first egg,
some preditor got to them

tore into their little coop.
Now Iam looking for replacements.

 

[emys]

Hmmm. Well, you can never feed them too many dandelion greens, or too much cut up grass.

I think you should start making your girls search for their scratch in a big pile of leaves so they burn some calories looking for it. Maybe devise some other methods of making their treats last longer...

(corrected sentence fragment)

 

[GoldenCometLover]

That is terrible!

So sorry for your loss...

My 2 GCs are super friendly and drop to squat when I put my hand down for petting...such sweet chickens!

 

[GoldenCometLover]

Well...when they do free range, they are digging through leaves...I have huge maple trees on one side and huge evergreens on the other...they run right to the leaf piles when they free range, but they only get a limited amount of time to do it....I have a little problem with spoiling my pets.....

 

[BitsyB]

I have 6 Golden Comets (sweet sweet birds), and yes I love them and "spoil" them- but is taking very good care of your chickens and providing a healthy and happy life for them really 'spoiling"?

I give "treats", but they are always healthy- oatmeal w/ mango and yogurt, tomatoes, greens, anything nutritious (well not so much the occasional Cheerieos to trick them back into their run- but it works every time!)

Is there any way you an increase their free ranging time? then they'd be getting worms and bugs and weeds and grass which is their natural diet, and they love as much as treats. Plus lots of exercise, like eyms said. Scratching around all day is hard work you know...

And to Sissy- so sorry for your loss

Hope you can find some nice replacements

 

[wildorchid053]

i think meal worms are good for them and a good treat.. think of the protein they are getting.. seems to me you are giving good things and if they free range they will get what they are missing. as long at they are eating their other food too i wouldn't worry about it. the greens are great for them.. think of vitamins when you give them treats. lettuce and grapes not so much.. but greens are good and yogurt too.. mine are fat and sassy and in good health from leftovers and food treats.. so enjoy spoiling them

 

[GoldenCometLover]

I really wish I could give them more free range time, but I can't leave them out when I am not there....neighborhood dogs (very bad

) and hawks everywhere....there is only about an hour and 1/2 of daylight left when I get home from work right now and the first thing I do is let them out...with daylight savings time coming up that is going to change and they won't get much outside time as it will be dark when I get home

...believe me I wish I could let them run all day...the risk is just too great that something will happen...I am always giving them lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, etc so they definitely get tons of healthy greens...just like to treat them....

Can I give them too many mealworms?